Stenciling device



June 23, 1931. I H. ANDERSON ETAL 1,811,167

STENCILING DEVICE Filed Dec. 19. 1929 2 sheets sheet 1 N 0/, INVENTORSWWI. 620mm IMML 6 6 m (0W June 23, 1931.

H. ANDERSON ETAL 1,811,167

STENCILING DEVICE Filed Dec. 19, 192 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 q F.lg.LZ

40 2 4 4a. l I 5 15 device in cross-section, taken on the plane PatentedJune 23, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFr-ics HERMAN ANDERSON AND RAYMONDJ'. GANNON, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, 1 i ASSIGNORS T JAS'. H.MATTHEWS & GOMEANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A

CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA s'rniroimne Davies 7 Application filedDecember 19, 1929. Serial No. 415, 148.

This invention relates to a stenciling device, consisting of theorganization. of a paint-gun and a stencil in a frame, which devicerequires a minimum of supervision in the application of accuratelypainted patterns'or characters to surfaces to be marked;

The accompanying drawings illustrate a device embodying our inventlon;vFigure I is a v1ew of the dev ce in side elevation;

Figure II is a view in plan of the stencil,

showing interchangeable character-bearing plates mount-ed therein;Figure III is a view in cross-section, taken. on the plane III-III ofFigure II; Figure-XIV is a View of the IVf-IV of Figure FigureV isanenlarged view of the base of the device in cross-section, showing theremovable stencil positioned therein; Figure V1 is a further enlarged 2bv1ew showlng in cross-section a. characterbearingplate position inrthestencil; Figure VII is a fragmentary view of the paintgun supportingstandard, showing instrumentalities associate'dtherewith to regulateFigure VIII is a view in side elevation of a tally which mayconveniently be associated with the stenciling device for recording insummation the number of applications of an patterns or characterswhich'have been made.

Referring to the drawings the device consistsof a stencil carryingbase'to which an adjustable standard jl'is attached. Thebase includes awin'dowed fioor 4 (the numeral-4O t designates 'the window in the floor)which terminates peripherally in a wall or flange 4a, convenientlyhaving a" stud, 2 integral therewith for theattachment of the standard 1to the base 'A set-screw 12 serves to secure 1 the standard 1 to thestud 2', and manifestly the standard may" be adjusted angularly from thevertical osition in whichit is shown P 1 vide'd with wings 27wh1ch,"when the keeper in Figure IV. V

,j In the suitably grooved ways 5 a stencil 2O is removablyretained'beneath the floor 4 of plied. [The stencil comprises a carrierp atc'21' which is ordinarily formed of'sheet metal. The lower surface22 is unobstructed, and is shaped to conform wlth the surfaces to' bemarked-in this case, a plane surface.

The carrier plate isgprovided with an opening 21a (Fig. VI); and withstrips 23 mounted upon the upper face of plate 2i and ex tending alongopposite sides of opening 21a and forming with the plate grooves forguid mg and for retainlng in position the vcharacterebear ng plates 24.

The character-bearing plates 24jare con-' veniently formed of sheetmetal and consist each of body portion substantially corresponding inlength to the breadth of theopening 21a, to which body-portionthenumeral; 24 is immediatelyapplied, and ofopposite terminal tongues25. The tongues 25 are'oifset with respect to the'body 24 by an'intervalwhich corresponds to the thickness of the carrier plate 21Thecharacter-bearing plates are thus adaptedto be set in the opening incarrier plate-21, with their terminal tongues over-lapping upon theupper face of the carrier plate and 'benea'thstrips '23, and with 1 thelower surfaces of their body portions extending in common plane with thelower surface 22 of carrier plate 21, i

The strips 23 overlie the tongues 25 of the charaCter bearing plates, asshown inFigure VI, andtin order to' remove'a character-bearmg plate 24,it must be slid lengthwiseof thei strips and opening 210; past 'theleft-hand ends of the strips (Fig. II) whence it is free to be removedand replaced. When a desiredlegend has been composed by the arrangementof several character bearingplates say six character-bearing plates, akeeper 26 is inserted to 'stay the saidplates' and retain them intightly closed 'side-by-side. relation 9 in the carrier plate 21. The.keeper-.26 is formed ofresilien't sheet metal, and is prothe s r psfi it pre a a ns h t r'eurfaces or the stri s. Friction bevm be applied.

tween the flexed keeper and the strips 23 is effective to secure thekeeper in position.

Each plate 24 may by cutting be caused to bear its own distinctivecharacter 24a. In Figure II the assembly is shown of a plurality ofcharacter-bearing plates in the opening of the carrier plate. Manifestlyany arrangement of particular characters is possible, and characters ofany sort, whether numerals, letters, or conventional signs or designsmay be formed in the individual plates 24. Plates of uninterruptedcontinuityblank plates, with no character cut through themmay beinterposed, to effect, proper spacing of characters. Facility in changeand adaptation of the stencil as a whole in applying diflerentparticular legends or other designs to surfaces to be marked ismanifestly possible.

It will be noted that the carrier plate 21 is formed with off-setlateral flanges 28. These flanges are off-set at an interval suiiicientto enable the tops of the strips 23 to pass freely beneath. the floor 4of the base when the stencil is positioned with the flanges 28 insertedin the ways 5, and slid into the position assumed during use; that is,into the position shown in Figure V, which places the effective portion(the character-bearing )ortion of the stencil in ex sosure throu hwindow 40. -By forming the carrier plate with the oft-set flanges 28,.and by forming theIcharacter-bearing plates 24: with off-set terminaltongues and sobringing the lower surfaces of these plates to commonplane with the lower surface of the carrier plate, it is manifest thatin use thecharacter-bearing plates will come into close contact with asurface to which the stenciling device may Adjustably mounted at aninterval of space above the stencil-carrying base is a paint-gun 3. Themechanical construction and operation of the illustrated paint-gun 3 arewell known to the art, and precise description of it is unnecessary. Ingeneral, however, the paint-gun is connected to a sourceofcompressedair,'andthe air, as in operation it is released through a small ori-,fice, draws a suitable printing fluid from a container andeniits a jet9 of air carrying in atomized condition the printing fluid. In thedrawings,the compressed air enters the paint-gun through a tube 6, and abottle 7 contains the fluid which is drawn through a tube 8 into thegun. If the bottle be positioned at some elevated station remote fromthe ap paratus (as, obviously, it may be) gravity will aid the flow offluid into the gun.

Although the paint-gunB in and of itself is well known, its organizationwith the instrumentalities of our device is deemed to be novel. On, theupper extremity of standard 1 there is formed a boss 19, suitably boredto,

receive'the stem 13 of a clincher-bracket 11 in which the paint-gun 3 issecured. Arranged with the thumbscrews 14 to be fixed at variouspositions on the stem 13 are collars 15a, 15b bearing against the boss19 and adjustably securing the paint-gun in the desired positionlaterally of the device. Oompleinentary longitudinal adjustment of thepoint-gun may be had by swinging the stand ard 1 on set-screw12. l

'In stenciling, the jet 9 of air and printing fluid is directed towardthe stencil-carrying base and plays upon the effective area of thestencil; that is to say, upon the area of the stencil which is exposedby the windowed floor 4 of the base. As may be seen in Figure I, the jet9 diverges downwardly, and attains a breadth which is as great as thebreadth of the window 40. Two auxiliary air jets (see Fig. IV) may bedirected obliquely downward upon jet 9, and from op osite sides, tocontrol the breadth of the Jet 9. While, of course, the depth of jetv 9is relatively slight, it may be varied both in breadth and depth byproper control of jets 10. To permit the jet in its depth (transversely,Fig. IV) to cover the efiective area of the stencil we have movablymounted the paint-gun. The mounting of the stem 13 in the boss. 19 isexpedient to this end That is, byswinging the paint-gun and itssupporting bracket 11 on the axis of the revoluble stem 13, the sprayorjet will, in striking the stencil, travel in accordance with theangular movement of the gun. As shown in Figure VII, adjustable stops 16may be set in lugs 17 on the standard 1 to limit the rotary movement ofthe paint-gun and to confine the travelling of the jet within desiredlimits. That is to say, a set-screw 18 forms in effect a protuberance onthe collar b, and the inner ends of the thumb-screws 16 affordadjustable stops to limit movement ofthe screw 18, and thereby confinerotation of the paint-gun within the desired limits.

' A tally may be included with the device, for indicating the totalnumber of markings which the device has made during a certain intervalof time. This recording feature is found to be particularly advantageousin steel-sheet mills where it is customary to inspect, count, and markeach sheet. At variance with the usual practice one attendant may attendto all three of these matters. Our device does not require closesupervision in operation- It may be placed on a sheet and intuitivelyoperated-operated by feelwhile the operator is searching for defects thesheet which he is marking; and, of course, the tally records eachapplication, whereupon the number of sheets may be determined.

lVe haveshown a tally 80 in FigureVIII, a tally which indicatesprogressively in units of one each oscillation of the tally-operatingarm 81.. The tally 80 may conveniently be attached to the flange 4a ofthe stencil-carrying base, and a floating pin 82 may be supported in abracket 83. The pin 82 is provided with a grooved head 84 to receive thearm 81, and the lower end of the pin normally extends below the plane ofthe stencil 20. By placing the stencil upon a surface to be marked, thetally-operating arm 81 is raised to record one application. Manifestly,a saving of time and of labor is realized.

A further important advantage of the stenciling instrument is worthy ofmention. It has to do with the marking of metal sheets which areprovided for protection with a thin film of oil. In marking such sheets,it has to our knowledge always been necessary preliminarily to removethe oil from the surface before the printing fluid may be satisfactorilyapplied. We have found, however, that the paint-gun may be so operatedand so positioned relatively to the stencil 20 that the characters orpatterns may be directly applied to an oily surface. That is to say, ifthe paint-gun is operated by air under a pressure of 40 pounds, and thespray or jet orifice of the paint-gun is arranged from 7 to 9 inchesfrom the stencil, a peculiar action takes place. The mixed jet of airand printing fluid penetrates and replaces the oil on the surface whichlies immediately beneath the cut-out portions of the stencil, and sharpand legible characters are, as a result, applied to the sheet.

What we claim is:

1. In a portable stenciling machine which is movable as a unit to aposition of rest upon the surface to be marked, the combination of asupporting base for the machine, a stencil removably secured in saidsupporting base, which stencil conforms to the surface to be marked andcomprises the bottom face of said base which is adapted to lie in closecontact with said surface to be marked, a standard extending upward fromsaid base, and a paint-gun movably secured to said standard above saidbase and its included stencil.

2. In a portable stenciling machine which is movable as a unit to aposition of rest upon the surface to be marked, the combination of asupporting base for the machine, a stencil removably secured in saidsupporting base, which stencil conforms to the surface to be marked andcomprises the bottom face of said base which is adapted to lie in closecontact with said surface to be marked, a standard extending upward fromsaid base, a paintgun movably secured to said standard above said baseand its included stencil, and adjustable means for limiting the extentof such movement.

3. In a portable stenciling machine which is movable as a unit to aposition of rest upon the surface to be marked, the combination of asupporting base for the machine, a stencil removably secured in saidsupporting base,

which stencil conforms to the surface to be marked and comprises thebottom face of said base which is adapted to lie in close contact withsaid surface to be marked, a standard extending upward from said base, apaintgun revolubl secured to said standard above said base an itsincluded stencil, and adjustable means for defining an are through whichsaid paint-gun may be revolved.

4. In a portable stenciling machine which is movable as a unit to aposition of rest upon the surface to be marked, the combination of awindowed supporting base for the machine, a stencil removably secured insaid base within the area of its Window, which stencil conforms to thesurface to be marked and upon which surface the stencil is adapted torest,

a standard extendin upward from said base,

a paint-gun revolu ly supported by said standard, an are throughrevolved.

5. In a stenciling machine, the combination of a base, a stencilremovably secured in said base, a standard extending upward from saidbase, a paint-gun revolubly supported by said standard, and adjustablemeans for defining an angle through which said paint-gun may berevolved.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

HERMAN ANDERSON. RAYMOND J. GANNON.

and adjustable means for defining which said paint-gun may be

